Age Appropriate: Preteens
Emotional Response: Excitement, amusement and a little sadness
Notable Features: magic, kings, dungeons
Language: Japanese
Length: 2 Seasons, 24 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Definitely
"You see, you are a courageous person." - Aladdin
The story begins with a little boy gorging himself on watermelon, and the ruffian/worker who stumbles upon him in a caravan. Aladdin and Alibaba become quick friends - after a certain level of annoyance on Alibaba's part - and travel through their first adventure in the first episode. In that first episode, they meet a slave named Morgiana. Aladdin, clearly being out of touch with the world, breaks her chains, assuming that this would make her immediately free. While this is definitely not the case, that first action on his part seals their fate, and friendship, later in the series.
Alibaba's main goal in the first season is to defeat a dungeon and take that wealth and power to better his situation. Throughout the dungeon he learns some things about himself. At the same time, Aladdin starts his journey of self-discovery. While he's learned that he's a "Magi," he has no idea what that really means. Along the way of their journey, he meets many people who help him learn who and what he is - including kings, slaves and Djinn. The Djinn are magical creatures held within special items, and they're part of the deal when you defeat a dungeon. Their magical powers are transferred to the winner, and this assistance becomes a huge part of the battle between good and evil that heroes face. Each story arch includes an epic battle that moves the characters down their own paths of destiny. While friendship is certainly a major theme, this series seems to focus more on personal development and understanding with friendship as a helping hand.
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This was so much fun! I rediscovered how much I adore fantasy. I've been very hung up on high school dramas, of various sorts, that I haven't really been watching anything else. I remember seeing this when it first starting being simulcast, and turning away because it wasn't over yet. I have a hard time dealing with instant gratification. I have to say, though, that I'm glad I waited. I devoured this, and the idea of waiting week-by-week sucks. I pretty much adore Aladdin, too! I also want super Djinn powers. I'm not sure how far up the list I would put this, but it's definitely one of the better anime I've seen lately. So much fun. It's not entirely fluffy, either. I definitely had an adventure with this one. It actually reminded me a lot of The Last Airbender, which I also enjoyed immensely however long ago.
There were two disappointing things about this anime. The first being that I now have to wait for season three (or two, depending on how you count things). It's not coming out until October 2013, I guess. The second being that I wanted a little more out of the budding romance that is starting between two characters. I'm sure that I'll be more satisfied when I can see the next part. CAN'T WAIT. I definitely recommend this to pretty much anyone, especially if you enjoy adventure anime. I'm seriously upset that I have to wait. October can't come fast enough. My only hope is that it's still as good as what I've seen so far.
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Open Sesame!: Zettai Boei Leviatan
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